Luke
1:26-38
4
Advent
So,
if a supernatural being were to appear before you, numinous and shining with an
unearthly light, and told you to quit your job and do something entirely
different for half the pay in order to serve God better and love people more,
would you do it? What if that same radiant being told you to do something
completely out of your comfort zone, like telling other people what God has
done in your life or starting a new ministry at church: would you do it? What
if a heavenly being appeared to all of us right now, robed in light with huge
wings and glowing halo, and told us God wanted us to build a group home for
troubled youth or establish a relationship with a church in Africa, or
commanded us to do something really radical like removing the pews and replacing
them with comfortable chairs, would we do it? We might or we might not, but I’m
guessing that many of us would think that, with such a sure sign from God, we
should do it. Certainly the physical encounter with something so amazing would
have a powerful impact on us and would stay with us the rest of our lives.
And
maybe that’s what many of us think happens in the Bible: a few particular
people have these awesome encounters with supernatural beings, so it is
relatively easy for them to make big changes or take huge risks because they
have seen in technicolor glory a visual sign from God. But that is not what our
Gospel describes today. We have no idea what Gabriel looked like. There is no
mention of wings or light; he’s not described as holding a harp or sporting a
halo. And that is consistent with all biblical stories about angels: their
appearance is never described. The angels who visit Abraham, the angel who
wrestles Jacob, the angel who commissions Gideon to fight the Midianites, the
angel who leads Elijah to Mt. Horeb, the angel who protects Daniel in the
lion’s den, the angels who minister to Jesus in the wilderness: not one of
these is given any physical description. We are told a little about other
heavenly beings, like the cherubim who are sculpted on the Ark of the Covenant
and the seraphim who appear to Isaiah in a vision, each of whom has six wings.
But nothing about angels. The closest we get are the three angels who visit
Abraham at Mamre, and they are simply described as “men.”
Scripture
tells us that angels can be awesome, even frightening, but that’s not because
of the way they look. Their power resides completely in the words they speak.
The Hebrew word “malach” and the Greek word “angelos” both mean “messenger.” An
angel is a messenger delivering a message from God. What perplexes, frightens,
and inspires Mary in the Gospel is not what Gabriel looks like, but what he
says.
This
is crucial if we are going to treat this passage not as a lovely fable but as a
transformative text that speaks to us today. What matters is the message. The
problem with our cultural angel imagery, which pops up everywhere this time of
year, is that it makes these urgent biblical stories seem like fairy tales to
us. Glowing angels, dressed in white, with long flowing hair and golden harps,
looking luminous, may be pretty, but they totally get in the way of what we
need to hear. Because we know that no one ever sees the kind of angel depicted
on Christmas cards. And so we can easily hear these important biblical stories
as religious fantasies, and view the angels in them as iridescent — and
irrelevant. Because, deep down we think, they’re just not real.
So
let’s not limit ourselves. The Bible doesn’t. Angels can manifest themselves in
many ways because God’s message can come to us in many ways. One angel speaks
to Moses out of a burning bush. One angel speaks to Joseph in a dream. An angel
can take the form of another person: the woman of Tekoa tells David that he is
“like the angel of God” to her (2 Sam. 14:17). If an angel can take any form,
if God can speak to us in any way, then we have every reason not to dismiss
angels as a pretty fiction but to look for them earnestly in our own lives.
Several
years ago, I was going through a bleak time. Our Associate Rector at that time
was seriously ill and struggling, the Mission building project was not going
well, a number of people were not happy with me, a slew of people had died, I
was feeling strung out, and my stress level was as high as it has ever been in
my ordained ministry. And during that time a parishioner made an appointment to
see me. Now, most of the time when people come to see me it is because we have
business to do for the church or because they’re in pain: either they are
hurting or someone they love is hurting in one way or another. So I remember
this visit vividly. I was barely getting through the day, and when this woman
came into my office and sat down, I just braced myself for whatever bad news
she was going to deliver. And then she smiled and said, “I just want to tell
what a difference your ministry has made in my life. And I’m thinking not many
people tell you that, so I made this appointment just to say thank you for all
you have done for me.” And in that moment, that woman was God’s angel to me. I
almost cried: at a time when I desperately needed it, God found a way to reach
me and give me a message of encouragement and hope. And all I could say was,
“Yes! Thank you, God!”
I
have had other such encounters, and I know other people have as well. And
truly, there is no reason to celebrate the birth of Christ later today if we
are not willing to embrace the truth of the Incarnation right now, the truth of
Emmanuel: “God with us.” For God is with us, and God comes to us in myriad
ways. We are surrounded by angels and heavenly beings, connected to them and
each other in an eternal web of love. What makes the story of Mary so important
and so beautiful is not the appearance of Gabriel: for all we know, he came
disguised as beggar on the streets to deliver his amazing message. No, what
makes this story forever relevant is that Mary hears the message and says yes: Here I am . . . let it be with me according
to your word. I don’t know when an angel will next come to you, or what
form it will take: A person you know? A stranger? A dream? A passage from the
Bible that lights up for you? A word from a sermon that sticks with you? An
idea in your head that just won’t go away? What I do know is that God is love,
and God is with us, and God is relentless. Be ready to listen. Be prepared to
say yes.
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